The present invention relates to the field of self-adhesive labels for CD-ROMS, and more particularly, the invention relates to a die cut sheet having a plurality of labels formed thereon and the method of applying the labels from the sheet to a CD-ROM.
The proliferation of compact disks (discs), also known as laser disks, in the form of music as well as CD-ROM products has become extensive. In recent years, recordable compact disks have grown in popularity. Further, these disks are being used for archival data storage, immediate distribution of data, and for demonstration purposes.
With this recent use has grown a need to label these disks once they have been produced. This is because once produced; there is no apparent visual method for determining the contents of a disk, which may contain 680 MB of data or more. While manufacturers of large numbers of identical disks have their labels or identifying information painted, silk-screened or printed onto the disks, e.g., a layer of adherent ink or pigment is applied to the surface of the disk, this method is impractical for recordable compact disk producers. For small runs or those requiring immediate availability of the disk, printing or painting based methods of labeling take too much time, incur a significant setup charge, and require special equipment.
Another known method of labeling a compact disk employs a direct printing using an ink jet system onto the surface of a disk. These systems provide a special carrier for the disk, which is printed using a conventional ink jet printing apparatus. This method suffers the shortcomings of ink jet technology, including problems with the label used, such as smudging, running, lack of scratch resistance on the disk surface, and the like.
Ink markers may also be used to label disks, but this is unattractive and can cause damage to the disk by breaking down the coating, which protects the disk. Permanent ink markers often include solvents in the ink.
As a result, manufacturers such as the assignee of the present invention have begun producing self-adhesive labels shaped like and designed for compact disks. Typically, labels were printed one at a time through a printer, with a later design allowing xe2x80x9ctwo upxe2x80x9d printing of two compact disk labels aligned and centered on a single sheet. The labels are provided on computer printable sheets that are die cut so that after printing with indicia, the labels can be removed and adhered to the disk. An example of such a sheet capable of supporting three (3) labels or a xe2x80x9cthree upxe2x80x9d is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,289.
The assignee of the present invention has also developed a compact disk labeling device known as the xe2x80x9cNEATO,xe2x80x9d which easily centers a self-adhesive label with respect to a compact disk or recordable compact disk before allowing contact therewith. The labeling device and method are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,543,001 and 5,902,446. For smaller, oval-shaped discs used primarily for business data the assignee has developed a smaller disc holder for use in manually applying the label to the disc, disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/474,684 filed Dec. 29, 1999. Thus, the prior art methods of marking the disks with felt tip markers, manually positioning rectangular or circular labels on the disk, and printing directly on the disks with an ink jet printer are obviated.
According to the present invention, six die-cut CD-ROM labels are provided on a sheet in a vertical pattern with labels offset from a scored or perforated centerline of the other three. Each set of three is spaced from the outer edges of the sheet and by folding the sheet in half and removing a corner tab an adhesive edge portion of one of the labels is exposed which can be applied to a disk manually held on a printed outline of the disk on the back of the backing sheet, obviating the need for use of any applicator centering device, or holder for the disk, and/or label.
The adhesive labels are provided as die cut blanks and having a backing sheet. Each label is removable by tearing a tab along micro-perforations and a die cut in the backing sheet, to expose a portion of the adhesive on the adhesive edge or xe2x80x9cstickyxe2x80x9d side of the label. A CD-ROM disk may then be placed on the printed outline on the back of the die cut sheet, also provided with die cut therein to assist in removal of the label from the sheet and the sheet folded about the foldable centerline to adhere the exposed adhesive edge portion of the label to the edge surface of the aligned disk. The die cut label may then be peeled from the backing sheet and smoothed down on the remaining portion of the disk.
This process is repeated for each label on each side of the centerline until the labels are depleted. Therefore, not only are labels provided which after printing graphics from a computer-generated template, which can be removed and adhered to a compact disk for identification, but the label sheet completely does away with the necessity of providing a labeler device or disk holder while applying the label.
Typical sheets and label dimensions are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
The label sheet may be formed of a stock having an aluminum layer or a pigmented layer over at least the die cut portions. A preferred weight of the stock is about 80 pound.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.